Wine Me Dine Me: Glazed, but not confused

Rachel Forrest More Content Now

Friday

Mar 23, 2018 at 1:44 PMMar 23, 2018 at 1:44 PM

Ham or lamb for Easter? I know some of you go for brisket or something meatless on the Easter holiday but for those baking a big ham whether smoked, spiraled or otherwise, that ham is going to need a glaze, usually something sweet, often mixed with heat. There’s usually brown sugar or maple syrup involved, perhaps some preserves, sometimes mustard.

A good glaze makes a ham both look and taste better, adding flavor nuances to the salty, smoky ham and thanks to the sugar in most glazes from brown sugar, syrup or preserves, a glossy, caramelized coating. If you’re not using a spiral ham, be sure to score the top of the ham with shallow cuts about 2 inches apart in a nice pattern for presentation purposes. If you’re a fan of sticking cloves all over the ham, keep in mind that the flavor of clove can overwhelm your glaze

Some will glaze the ham with a basting brush during just the last 20-30 minutes of baking to avoid burning, but I like to baste throughout, every 30 minutes or so, like I might a roasted chicken. I like to make extra so I can create a sauce at the end and there should be a combination of ham drippings and glaze in the bottom of the pan to make a sauce or gravy with.

So, what are you making this glaze out of? I like improv on this one both in terms of what and how much. Taste as you go. You’ll need something sweet like apricot preserves, orange marmalade, honey, brown sugar or maple syrup but then you can add some snap with mustard, horseradish or chipotle. Booze, like bourbon or rum is also an option. Other flavors like ginger, sesame, sage and sriracha can be added to the mix.

Here are some ideas:

The very basic old-school glaze is simply to mix 1 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons mustard in a bowl until smooth, but I’ve been using this recipe I got from Southern Living way back in 2007 for my bone-in ham.

Sweet-Hot Plum-Glazed Ham

Adapted from Southern Living

1 c. plum preserves

1/2 c. orange juice

2 T. lime juice

1 T. yellow mustard

1 T. honey

2 t. minced fresh ginger

1/2 t. dried crushed red pepper

1 (7-lb.) smoked fully cooked, bone-in ham

Stir together first 7 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until preserves are melted and mixture is blended. Pour half of plum preserve mixture into a microwave-safe bowl.

Trim excess fat on ham to 1/8-inch thickness. If desired, make long, shallow cuts over entire ham, forming diamond patterns. Place ham on a wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Brush ham with a portion of plum preserve mixture from saucepan.

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